Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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2.
The present invention relates to a method of adhesion and
articles using said method.
Envelopes of the self-seal type generally comprise
a closure flap coated on its back with an adhesive
layer which mates with an adhesive layer provided on a
co-operating surface of the envelope. Usually the-closure
flap is an extension of the front sheet of the envelope
and the co-operating surface is the back sheet of the envelope.
Whilst these envelopes can be opened by peeling the co-operating
surface and surface coated with adhesive apart, resealing by
merely pressing these surfaces together again is generally
unsatisfactory because during opening, the adhesive is at least par-
tially removed from the closure flap and/or the co-operating surface
It has now been found that an envelope may be more
reliably sealed and resealed after opening along the seal
if one surface is provided with a pile of fibres or fibrils
and the other surface is coated with a tack adhesive.
According to the present invention an envelope
of the self-seal type is provided which comprises a closure
flap and a cooperating surface against which the closure
flap may adhere to seal the envelope, one from the closure
flap and the cooperating surface having a pile
of fibres or fibrils and the other having a
layer of a tac~c- adhesive, mating of which provides the
envelope seal.
The envelope may have a strip of pile of fibres
or fibrils on the closure flap or the cooperating surface,
but it is preferred that either the front or back sheet,
most preferably both sheets, have internal faces covered
with a pile of fibres or fibrils. Such preferred envelopes
have the advantages of improved thermal or shock insulation
for the contents of the envelope. Where the internal faces
of one or both sheets are covered with a pile of fibres
or fibrils, an extension of one sheet may serve as the
closure flap of the present envelope.
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3.
A pile from any suitable pile surfaced
material may be use~ ~2rein although we find it
~ost convenient to use a pile surfaced material produced
fro~ a thermoplastic material according to the techniques
described in British Patent Nos. 1378638,1378639
and 1378640. In the techniques of these patents
a lamina~ pile surfaced material is formed by feeding
a thermoplastic material and a back~ng to a heated surface
with the thermoplastic material between the backing and
the heated surface so that the thermoplastic softens and
bonds to the backing as well as adhering to the heated
suxface so that the combination of the thermoplastic
and the backing may be peeled away from the heated
surface so that the thermoplastic is drawn into fibrils of
f~b~es to provide a plle surface.
In the envelopes of the present invention the fibres
or fibrils preferably have a length be~ween in~ and lOm,
most prefexably betwee~ 2mm and 6mm.
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Preferred fibril forming thermoplastic materlals which
may be employed in the production of a pile surfaced product
fox use accordincJ to the present ~nvention include addition
polymers, ~or example polymers and copolymers of ethylene,
propylene, butadiene, vinyl chloxide, vinyl acetate, vinylidene
chloride, acrylonitrile and styrene and condensation polymers~
for example polyamides and polyesters, e.g~ of glycols
and aromatlc dicarboxylic acids. Blends of filament
oxming polymexic materials may also be used.
As examples of specific thermoplastic polymeric matexials
tha~t may be employed we may mention polyethylene,polypropylene,
nylon~ polyethylene texephthalate and polyvinyl chloride. Paxtic-
ulaxly pxefexred polymexic matexial is low density ~olyethylene.
, The backing may be of any suitable material as described
in the above patent specificationsbut preferably the backing
is of paper, which may be newsprint, light or heavy duty
wrapping paper, kraft paper, or flex~ble caxdboard.
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In makin~ the present envelopes, a strip of pile
surface product may be secured onto a closure flap or co-op-
e~tl~.~3 surface of a preforMed envelope or en~Jelope blank before
assembly but preferably the whole sheet which forms the side con-
taining the closure flap is fabricated from a pile surfaced product.
Envelopes having on one or more internal surfacesa pile surface are describe~ in ~ritish Patent Specification
1393091.
The adhesive used in the envelopes of the present
invention is a tack-adhesive. Such adhesives adhere well
to dry objects merely by pressing the object onto the
adhesive. For the present envelopes, the adhesive ma~ be
for example spread directly onto the cooperating surface
or a tape having both sides coated with tack-adhesive
may be stuck to the cooperating surface. In order to reduce
the risk of the tack adhesive becoming contaminated or
adhering to other objects before the envelope is used,
it is desirable to cover the tack-adhesive with a release
paper or the like which can be removed from the adhesive
; paper imrnediately before the envelope is sealed.
Hence in accordance with the present invention,
a method for releasably adhering a pile surfaced material
to a substrate is provided which compris~s contacting the pile of
said material onto a layer of tack adhesive which has been
applied to a surface of the substrate.
Whilst the broad aspect of the invention has hitherto
been described with particular reference to envelopes, it will
be readily understood that the pile surfaced material may be
made to adhere releasably to any substrate to which a tack
' adhesive can adhere. Such a substrate may be rigid or
flexible and the pile surfaced product may have ~or example
5. a woven or non-woven backiny or those hereinbefore described
or those described in British Patent Specification 1334672.
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Pile-surfaced products have a variety of u~sesS~here
releasable adhesion is an asset. For example the products
can be used as dust mats on floors and as dusters. The
method of the present invention is useful in such app]ications
where a layer of tack adhesive is applied to the floor or head
of a duster apparatus and an area of the product can be turned
or folded over for adherence to the tack adhesive whilst leaving the
remainder of the product as a dust mat or duster. In another
embodiment, the product can have a pile surface on both
surfaces whereby one surface is for adhesion and the other
serves as dust mat or duster.
One preferred embondiment of the invention is illustrated
with reference to the accompanying Figures of which
Figure 1 is a plan view of an envelope, and
Figure 2 is a section on the line I-I of Figure 1.
The envelope comprises an upper sheet (1) and lower
sheet (2). Both sheets were formed from material having a
piled surface (3). The sheets have the same width but lower
sheet (2) is longer, the extra length forming closure flap (4).
In forming the envelope, edges (5,6,7,) are superimposed and
heated to form a heat seal (8). The upper sheet has free
unsealed leading edge (9). A piece of double sided self-adhesive
tape (10) is placed on the upper sheet (1) at the cooperating
portion, and a release paper (11) is located on the upper
and exposed surface of the adhesive tape.
In order to seal the envelope, the release paper was
removed and the closure flap folded about leading edge (9)
so that the pi]e on the closure flap meets with and adheres
to the exposed surface of adhesive tape (10). A firm seal
was formed on pressing together the closure flap and adhesive
tape on the cooperating surface. The flap and
cooperating surface were peeled apart and resealed six times, -
each seal being strong, without substantial breaking of the
of the pile from the closure flap.
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The pile-surfaced material was prepared2as follows : -
A sheet of brown wrapping paper, 90 gm , was fed into
a Kodak 15 TC glazing machine with a hot roll at 150 C
and a layer of polyethylene fi.lm (2 plies each 50~um thick)
was fed at the same rate between the paper and the hot roll.
The contact time of the paper and film on the hot roll was
approximately 30 seconds and during this time the paper and
film were held in contact with the hot roll by pressure
applied to an endless belt of resilient material. The paper
sheet was parted frorn the hot roll and a blast of air
directed at the side of the sheet nearest to the hot roll.
The product was a sheet of paper having firmly bonded
to it a soft pile of polyethylene fibrils approximately
S mm long.
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